Thanks for the memories

Kieran Trippier, set to make his final Newcastle United appearance, will go in the history books as one of the club's most important signings.

Newcastle United have made some big signings in the Premier League era.

But the club did not sign a genuinely world-class player during Mike Ashley’s time as owner.

Before then, there had been Michael Owen. And, before him, Alan Shearer, who would go on to repay every penny, and more, of his then-world record £15million transfer fee in goals.

Owen was a big name who was signed for big money in 2005, but the club did not get a big return on its investment in the striker^.

Then came Ashley, and it would be almost 17 years before another England international signed for the club.

And that signing, a world-class player like Shearer and Owen, would prove to be hugely significant – on and off the pitch.

He would be a class act in a black and white shirt.

Kieran Trippier joined from Atletico Madrid in January 2022 when the club, under new ownership and management, was 19th in the Premier League.

Trippier swapped Champions League football under Diego Simeone for a team which was trying to stay out of the Championship. To the wider football world, it looked like a strange move.

He was the first signing to buy into the “project”, it was not money that persuaded him to return to England.

Trippier said all the right things in his first press conference, a video call.

“People say it’s about money? They’re entitled to their opinion,” he said. “I wanted a project and a challenge. I’m brave, I don’t see this as a risk. I’ve got my reasons, I know them, and money isn’t one of them. I’m excited.”

Trippier, the signing who started it all, would go on to do all the right things on the pitch.

And his career at Newcastle will end on Sunday after the club’s final game of the season against Fulham, with his contract expiring this summer.

Wor Flags paid tribute to Trippier’s career before last weekend’s home game against West Ham United, which Eddie Howe’s side won 3-1. Trippier addressed supporters before the game along with Emil Krafth, also leaving the club this summer.

Fans held up banners which read: “Forever a Newcastle United legend. Thank you for the memories.”

“Legend” is an overused word in football, but Trippier falls into that bracket.

He made an big impact on the field, and in the dressing room, after joining, helping the club escape relegation before it pushed on and qualified for the Champions League the following season.

One of the best right-backs in the world at the time, he let his feet do the talking after that low-key video call. Talented and tenacious on the field, and a leader off the pitch, Trippier was exactly what the club needed at the time.

He memorably scored a match-winning free-kick against Aston Villa weeks after joining before suffering an injury in the same game.

Yet he was still an influence on the team while injured, travelling to away games as a non-playing member of the squad.

He was there at Carrow Road when Newcastle beat Norwich City 3-0 to move up to ninth when we got another glimpse of the potential of the team Howe was rebuilding with the backing of the club’s new owners.

For years, I travelled to away games with Fairs Cup-winning captain Bob Moncur when he was working as a radio summariser.

I loved hearing stories from his playing career, and those journeys up and down the club seemed to fly by as he recalled anecdotes from his career at St James’ Park.

Moncur, for more than half a century, had the tag as the last United captain to lift a major piece of silverware, something I interviewed him about a few times when the club came close to winning silverware.

Trippier has worn the captain’s armband many times, and it was fitting that he lifted the Carabao Cup with former and current skippers Jamaal Lascelles and Bruno Guimaraes at Wembley last year.

After all, he has had a huge hand in what has happened over the past few years.

Trippier was not one of the biggest signings in the club’s history, but, arguably, he was one of the most important.